


Parasite

by demalore



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-26
Updated: 2015-07-26
Packaged: 2018-04-11 08:01:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4427630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demalore/pseuds/demalore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With a world war looming over their heads, scientists were all too eager to investigate the round crystalline structures that had been appearing on Earth.  World leaders hoped that they could act as a source of energy during the inevitable global conflict, but others were more interested in their use as teleporters.  Though these artifacts were scattered all over the planet, they all led to an alien world, one that seemed to have already undergone a devastating apocalypse.  The apparently lifeless planet wasn't exactly what would-be refugees had been hoping for, but perhaps they could yet find a diamond in the rough.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Parasite

“Object of interest appears to be functional, ma’am.”

“What did I tell you about calling me that?”  Captain Malarie’s nose, a shapeless medal of courage from her years in the military, flared with indignation at her subordinate.

“Sorry,” the thin woman snapped back, tapping her pen impatiently on her clipboard.  “ _Sir_.”

“That’s better,” Captain Malarie answered, satisfaction curling the corners of her mouth like a dried leaf.  She crossed her arms, forming a thick, muscled barrier between her and the tight-lipped officer.  “Anyway, send the troops in immediately.  They’re getting restless.”  Captain Malarie whipped her long blonde tresses loose and redid the tight bun.  This was the fifth time today she had to adjust her wild hair, and by the Earth clock, it was barely morning.  Sparez watched with distaste, jotting something down while keeping her cold eyes on her commanding officer.  The other soldiers hardly seemed anxious to go onto the alien device, but the captain was something else entirely.

“Yes, _sir_ ,” Sparez snarled.  The pen she held seemed ready to snap at any second between her tight, artificial fingers.  The captain found her eyes wandering to the metal appendages growing from Sparez’s elbowless stumps.  Modern technology allowed her all the functionality of her old hands, perhaps even more, but couldn’t hide the unmistakable shine of the metal peeking from her sleeves.

Captain Malarie turned her attention to the object of interest--a circle of crystal, which beamed a blinding white light at all times of day.  Similar anomalies had been found on nearby planets as well, but this was the first working one they had found.  The fact that it seemed to be a teleporter wasn’t nearly as interesting to her superiors as its perpetual power source.  The skies were clear now, but tension was rising among the Earth leaders, and a limitless energy generator could come in handy if things did break loose soon.

Despite its potential, the captain had grown to hate the thing.  Her rank and prestige were both fruits of past wars, but she felt they were wasted on this little exploration.  The sooner they found out what made this thing tick, the sooner she could get back to Earth for the _real_ fun.

“I’ll head in now.  Send in the rest of those chumps once they stop acting like such pansies.”  Finishing her hair with a neat flourish, Captain Malarie stepped onto the glowing device.  Sparez watched anxiously, all too aware of the rules she was breaking by going alone, but knowing better than to let her nasal complaints out.

The sound of heavy bootsteps was replaced with a hollow clanging.  Once unfettered light now had to shine around the captain’s broad stature, failing to hide her enormous silhouette.  The other soldiers watched breathlessly as Captain Malarie dissolved into the pure cylinder, her particles beamed to wherever the teleporter led.  Despite their preparation, all the scientific reports in the world couldn’t numb them to the sheer terror of the bizarre magical object.  They knew it was dangerous, but that couldn’t keep away the curious moths.

With a flash of light, the landscape around the captain shifted from a military base camp to a dark gray wasteland.  The dirt itself seemed to have been burnt to ash, spinning around charred boulders with every gust of sour-smelling air.  Even the sky seemed to have been spoiled, now a dark pea-green color with no celestial body to brighten the monotony.

Captain Malarie spat onto the ruined ground, her fierce eyes scanning the landscape for any sign of life.  With all the portal’s promise, she had been hoping to find at least some hostile fauna, anything to make this more than a glorified Girl Scout picnic.  However, like the planet they had discovered the teleporter on, there wasn’t so much as a patch of moss on the whole miserable rock.  So much for an exciting mission.

Even without the Earth’s fluctuating sunlight, Captain Malarie could clearly feel the loss of each wasted hour.  Every day spent scouring the galaxy for these inexplicable crystal structures was lost preparation time, a greater chance that she would miss the action back on Earth.  And now that they had finally found something, it was a bust.  There wasn’t anything here of interest, not even--

A faint glimmer caught the captain’s attention.  It was dull under the dark, thick sky, but the orange glow was all too conspicuous against the black earth.  Donning her rarely-used sense of caution, Captain Malarie approached the foreign object, kneeling down to get a better look.

She had never been a big fan of jewelry, but she could at least recognize it as a gem.  A precious one, by the looks of it.  It even seemed to have already been cut into a flawless diamond shape, ready to be made into a nice pair of earrings.  She looked up and saw more jewels nearby, all displaying bright hues.

At least it was something.  Maybe there was life on this planet after all, or maybe a rival squad from Earth had been here already.  But alien or not, who would leave perfectly good gems in this trash heap?

With a second’s stare at the unthreatening gem, her mental safety switched off, and she found herself holding it in her bare hands.  She flipped it between her palms, looking at it from all angles.  The only noteworthy thing was how cold it was.  It almost seemed to stick to her warm, living flesh.

The captain drew in a sharp hiss, her right hand reflexively clutching the other’s wrist.  Her left palm, still cradling the foreign object, had begun to throb with pain.  Her fingers twitched, no longer under her conscious control, beginning to lose their heat to the gem.

As her hand continued to burn, she felt her tender palm skin rip from her bones.  She began to panic, flailing her left hand in the air, but the gem remained, as though embedded in her skin.

The stinging sensation reached her fingers.  The stiff joints no longer responded to her commands, only sending a continuous message of pain.  Around the gem was a circle of new, tight flesh, just like a newborn’s apart from the sickening orange color.  Her fingerprints seemed to burn away, replaced by inhumanly blank skin.

Her chest shuddering with hyperventilation, the captain gripped the gem with her right hand.  She dug her nails into the newly formed skin, but couldn’t break through it.  The discolored flesh was stronger now, protecting the gem from her prying hands.

It didn’t stop at her left hand, instead spreading to her forearm, bringing the plague of orange, stone-solid skin.  Now frenzied with panic, the captain clawed at her own traitorous body.  Each cell was dissolved by its neighbor and rebuilt stronger, rebuilt into something not quite human.

The gem’s power marched through the captain’s body.  Pain flowed in waves, pulsing as every last hair follicle and blood vessel was digested by the horrendous gem.  Futility washed over her, her right hand falling to her side.  A familiar dark fuzziness crawled into her eyes, leaving her one glimpse of the back of her now orange eyelids before she was gone.

~

The weight on her face was the first thing she noticed.  Her fingers explored her new countenance, expecting something entirely different, but the only noticeable change was her nose.  The broken emblem of pride was replaced with something narrow and hard.  She opened her left palm, and, finding it empty, realized what it was.

Though she had just woken up, she felt as though she had limitless energy.  There was no pain to speak of, no trace of the gem’s messy business. Except, of course, for the rock in her face and the bright orange hue to her skin.  Even the scars she cherished were now just dark red stripes, wrapped about her arms.

Her hand traveled from her face to her arms.  Her muscles, the result of years of hard work, were still there, bulging as ever, but she had the sense they weren’t quite her own.  Not anymore.  As she glanced down, her eyebrows furrowed with discomfort.  There seemed to be something missing.  Not a body part--they were all accounted for--but something else.

She gasped, and saw her chest rise for the first time since she had woken up.  Though she had been perfectly relaxed, feeling better than ever, she hadn’t been breathing.  Air still flowed easily through her lungs at her command, producing the familiar sound of her own breathing, but it wasn’t necessary.  The most vital parts of her body, which she had worked so hard to protect, were now just accessories, worthless baggage.

She grinned, surprising herself with a few short bursts of laughter.  This thing looked almost exactly like her, but it was all just a facade, a cheap trick.  Though the replication was perfect, it wasn’t her body, but an illusion.  Even her brain seemed to have been altered--her memory was almost completely wiped.  The only clear recollection was a single word, one she couldn’t have used more than a few times in the past, but that felt very familiar now.

_Jasper._

~

Every member of the squad huddled around a fuzzy-sounding radio.  Their murmurs were interrupted by chiming activation of the portal.  Many of the soldiers looked up at attention, but Sparez kept her eyes on the hissing device.  She hadn’t been able to pick up very much, but it had been enough.

The captain strode toward the negligent officer, avoiding the soldiers’ gaze.  No one commented on her new appearance, but she felt as though she could hear their minds churning out questions, wondering whether or not they were in danger.  She had been highly respected, almost feared before, but this new being inspired something more.  Whoever she was now, she liked it.

“Sparez,” she growled, looking down on the officer fiddling neurotically with the radio.  The woman glanced up, and her squint froze into wide, round pools of fright.

“C-captain, what--”

“Never mind that.  I’m taking the squad back with me.”  Unable to stop a sly smile from appearing, she continued, “I have something to show you.”

“I-I don’t think that’ll be necessary, Captain,” Sparez stuttered back, still adjusting the small transmitter.  The shouting it had broadcasted before was now nothing but silence.  “I...we...I think we’re stuck here for the time being.”

The captain flinched a bit.  She would’ve been outraged at this news just hours ago, or at least, the person she used to be would have been.  Now it seemed that the timing couldn’t have been better.

“Fine,” she smirked, waving for the troops to follow her onto the portal.  “This is our home world now.”

**Author's Note:**

> Criticism is very much appreciated!


End file.
